This invention relates to the management of laundry facilities, particularly public laundry facilities having a plurality of laundry service devices of various types, such as washers and dryers.
The laundry service devices of public laundry facilities of this kind are typically activated by payment of coins, which are collected at each service device. The intending user of the facility must obtain a sufficient number of coins of the correct denomination, typically quarter dollars, to activate the machines for a number of cycles of operation sufficient to meet his needs. It can be an inconvenience for the intending user to accumulate and bring with him the necessary coins. Many public laundry facilities provide bill changers, which accept currency bills and dispense coins for the convenience of the user.
There are several disadvantages to this method of paying for the operation of the laundry service devices. A large number of coins must be stocked in the bill changers, and a large number of coins are accumulated at each service device. This ties up operating capital for the owner of the facility. In addition, the presence of a large amount of currency and coins on the premises makes the facility a target for theft and vandalism. Further, the owner must employ a trustworthy person to make frequent collections of the accumulated coins and bills; and the task of counting the coins is time consuming. For example, it requires about four hours a week to manage the coinage in a facility having fifty service devices. This increases the cost of running the facility and decreases the profits.
Further, the use of coins, typically quarter dollars, limits the rate (cost per unit of operation) which can be charged to multiples of the coin. Thus an owner must set his rate exactly at a multiple of a quarter dollar: for example, $1.00 or $1.25. Smaller increments of cost cannot be charged to the customer. In competing with another facility in the neighborhood, an owner might wish to charge a price marginally lower than the price at the other facility, but not reduced by so much as a quarter dollar per cycle. Such flexibility is not possible with coin operated facilities.
Similarly, because each service device is fitted with a mechanical device for accepting coins, if an owner wishes to change his prices, the mechanical devices must be removed and replaced. This is time consuming and expensive, and cannot be done at frequent intervals. Thus, for example, it is not practical in such a facility to provide discounted rates for particular hours of the day or days of the week, in order to encourage users to use the facility at off-hours.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a laundry service facility management system which does not require the stocking of large numbers of coins in bill changers, which does not collect coins at the service devices or bills at the bill changers, which does not require collection and counting of coins, which permits flexible setting of rates to any desired increment, and which permits flexible resetting of rates as often as desired.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a laundry service facility management system which can accumulate detailed records of such matters as use of each particular service device, which can be related to time of day or to use of other devices in the facility. An owner of such a facility is thereby enabled to conclude, for example, that particular devices are comparatively unused, and from such information to optimize the physical layout of the facility or the particular mix of service devices. The owner can also track the operating history of any particular device and accumulate information which is relevant to repairs, maintenance and replacement. Furthermore, the owner can use such information to structure his prices, providing discounts for use at times when he finds his facility is lightly used.